In the Event You Lose Your Pet

The Animal Control Department makes every effort to reunite lost pets with their owners. If your pet is missing, please call 706-541-4077 immediately. Also, put a Lost and Found ad in the newspaper, and put up signs in your neighborhood. Pet owners are required to keep rabies to keep an identification tag on their pet at all times!

If Your Pet is Missing
Each year, more than 6,000 animals are taken to the Columbia County Animal Care and Control shelter at 6337 Columbia Road in Appling. While some of these animals are surrendered to the shelter by their owners for various reasons, the vast majority are picked up as strays. Fewer than 600 of these are claimed by their owners, but hundreds more could be returned to their homes if owners know what to do.

If your pet is missing, call the shelter and ask if there are any animals that match the description of the 1 you are missing. If not, request that your pet be added to the Lost and Found database. Please be as descriptive as possible when giving your information to the staff.

Check back with the shelter twice a day (mid-morning and afternoon) daily to see if your pet has been picked up.

Visit the shelter on a regular basis, everyday if possible, to see if your pet is there. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Please remember that you can't wear open shoes e.g., sandals, clogs, flip flops, etc. in the kennel area due to the sanitation processes.)

The shelter holds animals for 5 days to give the owners a chance to claim their pet and then animals are put up for adoption.